Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad - Google Books Heart of Darkness 2 Reviews For many years Heart of Darkness has been considered a great novella, one of a few great short novels in the Western canon. Because it addresses directly the ambiguity of good and evil, when it was first published the novel foreshadowed many of the themes and stylistic devices that define modern literature. One of Conrad's finest stories, loosely based on the author's experience of rescuing a company agent from a remote station in the heart of the Congo, Heart of Darkness is set in an atmosphere of mystery and lurking danger, and tells of Marlow's perilous journey up the Congo River to relieve his employer's agent, the fabled and terrifying Mr. Kurtz. What Marlow sees on his journey horrifies and perplexes him, and what his encounter with Kurtz reveals calls into question all of his assumptions about civilization and human nature. Endlessly reinterpreted by critics and read in schools by countless students, the novel has been adapted numerous times for film-most famously Apocalypse Now-and shows Conrad at his finest, most intense, and most sophisticated.

Heart of Darkness was originally published in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine in 1899 and published in book form in 1902. The present text derives from Doubleday's collected edition of Conrad's works, published in 1920-1921. Apocalypse Now (1979) - FAQ The content of this page was created directly by users and has not been screened or verified by IMDb staff. Visit our FAQ Help to learn more FAQ How much sex, violence, and profanity are in this movie? For detailed information about the amounts and types of (a) sex and nudity, (b) violence and gore, (c) profanity, (d) alcohol, drugs, and smoking, and (e) frightening and intense scenes in this movie, consult the IMDb Parents Guide for this movie. The Parents Guide for Apocalypse Now can be found here . Is "Apocalypse Now" based on a book? Apocalypse Now is based on Heart of Darkness (1899), a novella by Polish-British author Joseph Conrad [1857-1924]. The screenplay was written by American filmmakers John Milius and Francis Ford Coppola (who also directed the movie).

The script also draws elements from (1) Lord Jim (1965), the film version of a novel of the same name, also written by Joseph Conrad, (2) Dispatches (1977), a memoir of former war correspondent Michael Herr, and (3) the film Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes [ Aguirre, Wrath of God ] (1972). Did the crew really kill the water buffalo? No. The water buffalo was slaughtered by the Ifugao people you see on film for their own (ritual) purposes. They are a tribe that were used as the extras in the Kurtz compound. The crew claims that Coppola gave directions to the Ifugao people and brought them many buffalo to slaughter but only used one of the takes. Coppola tries to downplay his involvement in the event, The idea of using it in the film was brought to Coppola by his wife, Eleanor, who witnessed the ritual amongst the Ifugao prior to the scene's filming. What is Apocalypse Now: The Complete Dossier? Apocalypse Now: The Complete Dossier is a special DVD release of Apocalypse Now containing both the theatrical and Redux versions of the film.

It was released August 15, 2006, five years after the Redux edition debuted in theatres. In October 2010 the film was re-released on blu-ray DVD in a 3 disc "Full Disclosure" version which includes both versions of the film plus the documentary on the making of the film Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse . What happened to the photojournalist? In the film, the photojournalist's ultimate fate is left ambiguous. He is last seen telling Willard that Kurtz has started to go too far and that he is running away. There is a deleted scene available on the Complete Dossier DVD in which the photojournalist tells Willard that he took a picture of Kurtz and that everyone will soon kill him. He is immediately found by Colby and shot. What Happened to the puppy that Chef and Lance found on the sampan? The actual fate of the dog that Chef found in the river boat is left ambigous. The most logical explanation is that the dog was knocked off the boat and swam to shore. It's possible that, given the young age of the pup, it was not able to swim, but its fate is left to the viewer.

Why Did Kurtz Kill Chef? The exact reasons for Chef's decapitation are never actually made clear. Chef is last seen on the boat either trying to call for an air strike (for the Army to firebomb Kurtz' compound) OR simply conducting a radio test. One explanation could be that Kurtz knew this and killed him to prevent him from succeeding. Note that later on, just before Willard leaves to kill Kurtz, and at the very end, someone can be heard on the radio trying to contact the boat, implying that the previous conversation had been cut off abruptly, most likely because Chef was attacked and killed either by Kurtz himself or a native following his orders. If this was the case, then Kurtz presumably wanted to make an example of Chef, and dropped his head on Willard's lap as a warning. A second interpretation is that Willard finds Kurtz's notebook in which Kurtz wrote a note for Willard that says "Drop the bomb, kill them all!" so he killed Chef because he assumed Willard would tell Chef to order the strike if Willard did not return to the boat in a certain amount of time, which would kill Kurtz, Willard, and everyone else.

Kurtz wanted to die honorably, hand to hand by a fellow soldier, but a bombing death wouldn't fulfill that wish. Willard even states that he believes this to be the case. A third interpretation is Kurtz wanted to show Willard the face of the horror. A fourth interpretation is that Kurtz heard about Chef's language towards his people and himself, and was offended by it. After all Lance was spared, likely due to him embracing the insanity. What's the song that plays over the beginning of the film? "The End" by The Doors. It's from the band's 1st, self-titled album, released in 1967. The song is nearly 12 minutes long. Interestingly, the version heard in the film is the original, uncensored version where Morrison can be heard chanting the word "fuck" several times. This original version can be found on Legacy: the Absolute Best compilation. The track is also used at the end during the scene where Willard kills Kurtz. What happens to the surfing conditions after the napalm strike?

(Redux Edition) When Kilgore orders the jungle near the village to be napalmed, it creates a wall of heat that disrupts the breeze coming in from the ocean. Since the breeze creates the waves necessary for surfing, the waves die out. Essentially, the firebombing Kilgore ordered has altered the weather conditions themselves. When do the events of this story take place? No precise date is given however, Chef receives a care package late in the film that contains a news clipping about the Manson Family murders, which took place in August of 1969. We can therefore assume that the article was sent to Chef within a few weeks of it being clipped. Are the articles that Kurtz reads from the Redux version real? Kurtz reads from two Time Magazine articles. The second one has no date but the first one does: September 22, 1967. That article, titled "On the Horizon" is a real article. When Kurtz reads from it, he gives the title "War on the Horizon", but the original title does not have the word "war" in it. Without a date attached to it, the validity of the second article can't be confirmed.

Why does Willard object to the search of the sampan? Willard's mission had priority over any other operations the crew of the PBR might have. The mission was to get Willard close to Kurtz' compound and drop him off -- though, because of the top secret nature of it, Willard didn't tell Chief Phillips what the parameters were. When Phillips spotted the sampan and stopped it for an inspection, it was a routine action. However, Willard, having been on many secret missions before, objected thinking that it would cause him & the crew trouble, which it did. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad - Google Books Heart of Darkness 93 Reviews Heliographica Classics The Heliographica Classics line of books are high quality classic books by some of the world's greatest writers. Each book in the series is elegantly designed with original cover art. Selected books feature new introductions, supplemental material, and art by nationally recognized artists. Heliographica Classics are a great addition to your home library. Book Description: Apocalypse Then . . . Heart of Darkness, the novel based on Joseph Conrad's own sojourn in the Belgian Congo, is the story of one man's journey into the African jungle.

Marlow, both a wanderer and seaman (Conrad's recurring character), recounts his voyage through the Congo and the legends he encounters surrounding his exploring predecessor Kurtz. His eventual encounter with Kurtz reveals a depth of moral depravity that leaves Marlow to radically question not only his own nature, but also the very corruptibility of mankind. Loosely adapted by Academy Award. winning director Francis Ford Coppola as his film Apocalypse Now, Conrad's original novel Heart of Darkness persists as an unflinching look into the darkest potential of humanity. What people are saying - Write a review User ratings LibraryThing Review User Review - thebookmagpie - LibraryThing Beautifully written, rich, rich imagery, totally absorbing. I really don't want to waste anything about it for anyone, except to tell you to please read it. It won't take you long and it's entirely ... Read full review LibraryThing Review User Review - eadieburke - LibraryThing Conrad's writing is amazing. I loved his vivid descriptions of the river and the forest. Many a deep and profound message shows up within these pages. The book causes you to think about life and death ...

Read full review Selected pages View all » Common terms and phrases absurd all-fours amongst appeared asked bank began big river burst bush can’t chap coast Company’s conﬁdence couldn’t crawled cried darkness dead deck devil didn’t difﬁcult earth everything eyes face feet fellow felt ﬁerce ﬁgures ﬁlled ﬁnd ﬁne ﬁnger ﬁre ﬁrst ﬁt ﬂame ﬂash ﬂat ﬂies ﬂoated ﬂowed ﬂying forest glance glittering grass Gravesend hands head hear heard heart heart of darkness helmsman I’ve idea imagine immense ivory kind knew Kurtz lifted light live looked lost magniﬁcent manager Martini-Henry murmured mystery never niggers night one’s perhaps pilgrims pilot-house riﬂe river rivets round savage seemed shadow ships shook shore shutter silence slowly smile snag sombre sorrow soul stared station steamboat steamer stood stream strolled suddenly talk tell There’s thing thought took trees unsound method vanished voice wanted wasn’t whisper wilderness word About the author (2004) Joseph Conrad is recognized as one of the 20th century's greatest English language novelists.

He was born Jozef Konrad Nalecz Korzeniowski on December 3, 1857, in the Polish Ukraine. His father, a writer and translator, was from Polish nobility, but political activity against Russian oppression led to his exile. Conrad was orphaned at a young age and subsequently raised by his uncle. At 17 he went to sea, an experience that shaped the bleak view of human nature which he expressed in his fiction. In such works as Lord Jim (1900), Youth (1902), and Nostromo (1904), Conrad depicts individuals thrust by circumstances beyond their control into moral and emotional dilemmas. His novel Heart of Darkness (1902), perhaps his best known and most influential work, narrates a literal journey to the center of the African jungle. This novel inspired the acclaimed motion picture Apocalypse Now. After the publication of his first novel, Almayer's Folly (1895), Conrad gave up the sea. He produced thirteen novels, two volumes of memoirs, and twenty-eight short stories. He died on August 3, 1924, in England.

The 100 best novels: No 32 – Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (1899) | Books | The Guardian The 100 best novels The 100 best novels: No 32 – Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (1899) Joseph Conrad's masterpiece about a life-changing journey in search of Mr Kurtz has the simplicity of great myth Monday 28 April 2014 02.00 EDT First published on Monday 28 April 2014 02.00 EDT Share on Messenger Close So far, on this list, with the possible exception of Alice in Wonderland (No 18 in this series) , Heart of Darkness is probably the title that has aroused, and continues to arouse, most literary critical debate, not to say polemic. This is partly because the story it tells has the visceral simplicity of great myth, and also because the book takes its narrator (Charles Marlow), and the reader, on a journey into the heart of Africa. Our encounter with Marlow's life-changing journey begins on the Thames in London, the great imperial capital, with his recollection of "the uttermost ends of the Earth".

With brilliant economy, Conrad transports him to Congo on a quest that the writer himself undertook as a young man. There, working for the shadowy, but all-powerful "Company", Marlow hears of Mr Kurtz, who is described as a first-class Company servant. Once in the dark continent, Marlow is sent upriver to make contact with Kurtz, who is said to be very ill, and also to safeguard the security of the Inner Station. What he finds, after a gruelling journey to the interior, is a fellow European, who may or may not have gone mad, and who is worshipped as a god by the natives of the primitive interior. Kurtz, however, has paid a terrible price for his mastery. When Marlow finds him on his deathbed, he utters the famous and enigmatic last words: "The horror! The horror!" This line is often said to refer to the atrocities Conrad himself witnessed in Congo as it suffered under the colonial administration of the Belgians. He himself is said to have remarked that his story was based on "experience, pushed a little (and only very little) beyond the actual facts of the case".

The metaphorical force of the story and the indifferent contempt of the African who announces "Mistah Kurtz – He dead" (brilliantly expropriated by TS Eliot) gives Heart of Darkness the most modern air of all the books that make up the movement called Modernism. Welcome to the 20th century, possibly English and American fiction's golden age. A note on the text Conrad's first and second languages were Polish and French, with his third language, English, not acquired until he was 20. English, however, was the medium he adopted to explore his youthful experience as a riverboat captain in Belgian Congo. Part of the work's strange hallucinatory atmosphere comes from the writer's struggle with a language that was not his mother tongue. He sometimes said he would have preferred to be a French novelist, and that English was a language without "clean edges". He once complained that "all English words are instruments for exciting blurred emotions". This, paradoxically, is perhaps what gives the book its famously enigmatic, and ambiguous, atmosphere. Conrad finished writing Heart of Darkness on 9 February 1899.

It was originally published as a three-part serialisation in Blackwood's Magazine from February to April 1899 (a commission for the 1,000th issue of the magazine), where it was promoted as a nautical tale by a writer whose work was at first (mistakenly) associated with the sea. Heart of Darkness comes down to us in three other primary texts: a manuscript, a typescript and the final, revised version published in 1902. Not exactly a long story, and certainly not a novella, at barely 38,000 words long, it first appeared in volume form as part of a collection of stories that included Youth: A Narrative and The End of the Tether. It has become Conrad's most famous, controversial and influential work. The English and American writers who fell under its spell include TS Eliot (The Waste Land), Graham Greene (A Burnt-out Case), George Orwell ( Nineteen-Eighty-Four ) and William Golding (The Inheritors) . It also inspired the Francis Ford Coppola 1979 film Apocalypse Now, a work of homage that continues to renew the contemporary fascination with the text.

None of Conrad's other books have inspired such veneration, especially in America, though some (including me) might want to place Nostromo (1904) higher up the pantheon. Critics have endlessly debated it. Chinua Achebe denounced it , in a famous 1975 lecture, as the work of "a bloody racist". Among the novels in this series, few novels occupy such an unassailable place on the list. It is a haunting, hypnotic masterpiece by a great writer who towers over the literature of the 20th century. Three more from Joseph Conrad Nostromo (1904); The Secret Agent (1907); Under Western Eyes (1911). Conrad & Coppola Heart of Darkness & Apocalypse Now: A comparative analysis of novella and film In the opening scenes of the documentary film "Hearts of Darkness-A Filmmaker's Apocalypse," Eleanor Coppola describes her husband Francis's film, "Apocalypse Now," as being "loosely based" on Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. Indeed, "loosely" is the word; the period, setting, and circumstances of the film are totally different from those of the novella.

The question, therefore, is whether any of Conrad's classic story of savagery and madness is extant in its cinematic reworking. It is this question that I shall attempt to address in this brief monograph by looking more closely at various aspects of character, plot, and theme in each respective work. The story of Heart of Darkness is narrated by its central character, the seasoned mariner Marlowe, a recurring figure in Conrad's work. "Apocalypse Now" features a corollary to Marlowe in Captain Willard, a U.S. Army special forces operative assigned to go up the Nung river from Viet Nam into Cambodia in order to "terminate the command" of one Colonel Walter Kurtz whom, he is told, has gone totally insane.

It is fitting that Marlowe's character should be renamed, as Willard differs from Marlowe in several significant ways: 1) He is not the captain of the boat which takes him and a party of others up the river; 2) He does not reflect the deep psychological and philosophical insights that are a signal feature in Marlowe's character, and 3) He is sent on his mission specifically to kill Kurtz, unlike Marlowe who is simply piloting others in the capacity of captain of a steamboat. However, Willard does communicate Marlowe's fascination (growing, in fact, into an obsession) with Kurtz. Also significant is the fact that he holds the rank of captain, tying in with Marlowe's occupation. As to the character of Kurtz, it is worth noting that while significant discrepancies exist between the depictions of Conrad and Coppola, the basic nature of the man remains fairly similar. The idea of company man turned savage, of a brilliant and successful team-player, being groomed by "the Company" for greater things, suddenly gone native, is perfectly realized in both novella and film.

In the film, Kurtz is portrayed by Marlon Brando, the father of American method actors, who lends weight (both physically and dramatically) to the figure of the megalomaniacal Kurtz. Brando's massive girth is all the more ironic for those familiar with Heart of Darkness who recall Conrad's description: "I could see the cage of his ribs all astir, the bones of his arms waving. It was as though an animated image of death carved out of old ivory had been shaking its hand with menaces at a motionless crowd of men..." [1]. One could speculate that Coppola's Kurtz is a graphic analogy of the bloated American war machine dominating and perverting the innocent montegnards of Cambodia; however, after viewing Eleanor Coppola's documentary, one finds that the casting was more based on a combination of Coppola's wanting to work with Brando (remember "The Godfather") and Brando's own weight problem. (It should also be noted that the cult-like following of Kurtz in _______________ [1] Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness and The Secret Sharer (New York: Doubleday & Co., 1978), p.

135, Heart of Darkness is brilliantly and subtly updated by Coppola in a foreshadowing scene in which missives to Willard from headquarters are intercut with scenes of newspaper clippings about Charles Manson.) Also present in Coppola's film is the loveable, addle-headed harlequin/fool figure who meets Marlowe's boat upon arrival at Kurtz's station. This role is rendered in grand, demented style by Dennis Hopper, replete with a plethora of cameras (he is an American photojournalist) to update his fool's motley. Much of his dialogue is taken directly from Conrad, although his character does not flee the scene as does his doppelganger in Heart of Darkness. Regarding plot, as stated earlier, Coppola's rendering of Heart of Darkness diverges wildly from Conrad. Conrad's story depicts a turn of the century riverboat captain transporting members of an unnamed "Company," an ivory trading concern, up a snake-like river winding its way into the Belgian Congo in order to locate their top "agent" and relieve him of his independently-stockpiled ivory.

The Company has judged Kurtz to be a renegade whose methods are "unsound." Coppola's film gives us Willard, an Army captain who is sent by Army intelligence up a similar river in Viet Nam to kill a certain Colonel Kurtz. Again, Colonel Kurtz is considered by the parties in charge to be insane, his methods unsound (a direct dialogue echo from the text.) This last fact, however, that Willard is from the beginning an assassin, is a fundamental difference between the film and the book. It changes the whole psychological dynamic between that of Marlowe and Kurtz. In Conrad, Marlowe is in awe of Kurtz, comes to identify with him in some dark recess of his own psyche; Willard, on the other hand, is more impressed with Kurtz's credentials than moved by his force of mind and will. His mission to kill Kurtz gives him some measure of pause, but his military protocol mentality ultimately rules the day. Compared with Marlowe's deep, searching ruminations on the dark, enigmatic Kurtz, Willard is a government-issue automaton.

Add to this the fact that the first two thirds of the movie "Apocalypse Now" are concerned with the Viet Nam war and have absolutely nothing to do with the plot of Heart of Darkness, and it seems as if there is an unmendable rift between the film and its purported inspiration. To be fair, however, it is important to mention that the two plots do converge at the point just before the boat parties arrive at Kurtz's station, when a thick fog envelops each boat and a rain of arrows showers down on the passengers. From here we witness the death of the black helmsman by a spear, the greeting of the fool figure, and, finally the meeting with the mad Kurtz. Which brings us to the question of theme. The dominant theme of Heart of Darkness is man's vulnerability to his own darker nature and the various ways in which this terrible, savage, proto-man can be unleashed; power, the jungle, "the Company," all serve as catalysts for the emergence of this hidden, voracious id-thing within us all, most realized in Kurtz.

In "Apocalypse Now," Coppola is right on target in exploring this theme, his choice of Viet Nam in the sixties providing all the requisite elements: power, the jungle, and "the Company" are all present, the latter being represented by the U.S. Army, or perhaps the U.S.A. as a whole. This last touch is ingenious, as it calls up a whole series of speculations regarding the various forms of imperialism. In Conrad, set at the turn of the century, the imperialism is traditional, overt. In Coppola, the U.S. presence is just as overt, yet the pretense upon which it is based is more ideological, geopolitical. Both situations provide the possibility for endless abuse of power by foreigners in a primitive jungle setting, a setting which tends to bend their minds and release their dormant savage energies. Heart of Darkness depicts gun-crazy members of "the Company" firing wildly upon anything and everything as they progress up the river. Likewise the men in the PBR in "Apocalypse Now," even more so, in fact, due to the circumstances of the Viet Nam war. The ultimate extreme of man's dark side, as explored in Conrad and Coppola, is madness.

The embodiment of this madness is Kurtz, and it is explored more thoroughly, in fact, in Coppola. One might argue that no credit is to be given to Coppola for this, that so many men went mad in Viet Nam, that the war was madness itself. But the way in which Kurtz's madness is portrayed must be examined: the way Brando is filmed in perpetual half-shadow, as if darkness is pouring over him in some black ooze; the strange, nonsensical yet at the same time compelling ruminations he shares with Willard; the scene in which he beheads one of Willard's men and presents the trophy to Willard in full camouflage make-up. These are examples of the filmmaker's craft and should not be overlooked. To sum up, the question must be answered as to whether Conrad's Heart of Darkness has survived the passage of seventy-five years and a cinematic treatment by Francis Ford Coppola. I would say yes, in its basic thematic elements, it has.

Much has changed, but the basic feel of the novella, the brooding, mysterious jungle energy, its maddening influence over those who would try to tame it, and Kurtz, whose soul went mad, whose last words were "The horror, the horror," all remain relatively in tact. I wonder what Conrad would have thought. ©1996 Patrick Galloway SparkNotes: Apocalypse Now: Context Apocalypse Now Table of Contents Plot Overview Apocalypse Now (1979), one of the most important films to emerge from the Vietnam War era, took ten years and more than $30 million to make. Director Francis Ford Coppola struggled with setback after setback during production and constantly questioned his work on the film, to the point of threatening suicide. Because the film was shot in the Philippines and financed largely outside of the Hollywood studio system, it acquired a certain mystery among the media. By the time of its release, it had become almost mythical in stature. Apocalypse Now is based loosely on Joseph Conrad’s 1898 novella Heart of Darkness, the story of a ship captain’s journey up the Congo River during the heyday of European imperialism in Africa.

Conrad’s novella follows Marlow’s quest to find Kurtz, an ivory trader and philosopher whose intentions to enlighten the African natives fail as he gives in to the jungle’s savage temptations and ultimately goes insane. Orson Welles worked to adapt the novella for the screen in 1939, but his studio feared the production would go over budget and backed off the project. Welles ended up making Citizen Kane instead. In 1969, Coppola founded American Zoetrope with young filmmaker George Lucas, hoping to create a film company that could be financially and creatively independent from the conservative, restrictive Hollywood studio system. Among the first projects they sought to complete was Apocalypse Now, an original screenplay by John Milius based on Heart of Darkness but updated to take place in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Lucas hoped to direct the film, but they were unable to secure financing. At the time, the American antiwar movement was gaining power, as citizens became increasingly bitter and resentful about the United States’ role in the war. Executives were reluctant to release a Vietnam-related film amid such a volatile social context.

The project was shelved as Coppola and Lucas put the almost-bankrupt American Zoetrope on hold. Meanwhile, Coppola directed The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather, Part II (1974), which together went on to win nine Academy Awards and make Coppola a multimillionaire. With his new wealth, he revisited his plans for an independent filmmaking company and again chose Apocalypse Now to spearhead the reemergence of American Zoetrope. When Coppola took up the film for the second time at age thirty-six, he had seven feature films under his belt and was the winner of six Academy Awards. Apocalypse Now, however, was to be his most ambitious film in terms of both vision and scale—he felt prepared to create an epic movie that would capture the totality of the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War was fought from 1959 to 1975. South Vietnamese independence was at stake, as the war’s outcome would determine whether North and South Vietnam would be unified under communist North Vietnamese rule. The United States became involved in the conflict because its policymakers feared the spread of communism. China and much of Eastern Europe were already under communist control, and U.S.

leaders felt they could not “lose” Southeast Asia as well. The United States helped install an anticommunist prime minister, Ngo Dinh Diem, in South Vietnam in1954. When Diem was killed in a military coup in 1963, the United States became more directly involved in the war. The first U.S. combat troops were sent to Vietnam in 1965. With conscription in effect, the U.S. military drafted increasing numbers of young men to serve as the war progressed. The average age of a U.S. soldier in Vietnam was nineteen, and the majority were youths from the poorer sections of American society. By 1968, about 40,000 young men were drafted each month to meet demands for increased troops in Vietnam. Opposition to the war within the United States developed even before troops were deployed, but its scope was relatively narrow. As the war progressed, an unprecedented antiwar movement emerged in America. Millions participated in protests, teach-ins, and riots. The movement was fueled by public confusion as to the reasons for the U.S.

invasion; increasing draft numbers; the Kent State University protest, in which National Guardsmen shot four students dead; and the 1969 revelation of the My Lai Massacre, in which a U.S. Army division killed some five hundred unarmed Vietnamese civilians. Accounts of government deception and secret bombings further aggravated the flame of dissent rippling through America. By 1971, 70 percent of Americans sought the immediate withdrawal of American troops, and a majority thought the war was a mistake. Many U.S. soldiers in Vietnam also opposed the war and the draft, resulting in internal dissension, low morale, and an increasing number of soldiers going AWOL, or absent without leave. In January 1973, all parties involved in the Vietnamese conflict came together to sign the Treaty of Paris. The treaty’s terms provided for, among other things, a cease-fire between North and South Vietnam and the withdrawal of all U.S. forces from South Vietnam. The last U.S. troops left Vietnam on March 29, 1973, after nearly 58,000 young soldiers had died and more than 300,000 had been wounded.

Filming for Apocalypse Now began in February 1976. Coppola was able to secure a large area in the Philippines as the setting for the film shoot. The humid, typhoon-prone climate and dense vegetation provided a convincing substitute for Vietnam’s sticky, thick jungles. Coppola made every effort to re-create accurately the atmosphere, character, and action of the Vietnam War. As he said famously in a news conference at the Cannes Film Festival: “My film is not a movie. It is not about Vietnam. It is Vietnam.” Apocalypse Now was released in 1979, after it spent two years in the editing room being painfully whittled down from six hours to two and a half. By its release date, the film had been delayed for so long it had become the butt of many media jokes, spurring headlines that screamed “Apocalypse Never.” Upon its highly anticipated release, the film received mostly superlative reviews, and the bulk of critics considered it a flawed masterpiece. It took home the top award at the Cannes Film Festival and won two Academy Awards, for Best Cinematography and Best Sound, out of eight nominations.

Coppola, who had never been happy with the final cut of the film, in 2001 released Apocalypse Now Redux, which restored forty-nine minutes of scenes deleted from the original film. The new version received mixed reviews, but the original is still widely recognized as Coppola’s most ambitious, far-reaching work and the king of Vietnam War movies. Lord Jim Reviews & Ratings - IMDb IMDb 47 out of 53 people found the following review useful: Conrad's treatise on fear, heroism, cowardice and death from Trivandrum, Kerala, India 10 March 2006 I have seen the film three times over the past thirty years and each time I loved it. The subject of the film must have attracted director Richard Brooks who was essentially a screenplay writer who later became a director. He knew the merits of a strong script with philosophical lines from Conrad. Coppola was to use the related original material (Conrad's) in his "Apocalypse Now" for the Brando scenes several decades after this film was made and mostly forgotten.

What Brooks does not realize is that lines like "it only takes a split second to make a coward a hero or turn a hero into a coward" and "every sinner wants a second chance at redemption, without realizing he is damned for ever" are philosophical lines that one expects to hear from very literate individuals. Here, in "Lord Jim," the lines are often spoken by the dregs of society. Jim, of course, we are told by the narrator (Jack Hawkins' Marlowe) was philosophical, dreamed of heroism, and was a gentleman. The film is made up of three distinct segments: 1. the "sinking" of SS Patna 2. The liberation of Patusan ("Patna" + "us" make up the name Patusan, remarks Jim to his love) and 3. The battle with a group of scoundrels (led by James Mason's 'Gentleman' Brown) with some fine speeches on honor, death, and fear. Each segment could stand alone but together the film adds considerable worthiness that exceeds the action and plot, the elements that most viewers use to judge a movie. The lesser characters in the film add color and counterpoints to the script.

Christian Marquand's French Captain who defends Jim's "cowardice" with the words "fear can make us do strange things" or Paul Lukas' Stern who compares his dead butterfly collection with the "wonderful, perfect human beings that God created" or the native who wonders why some pray to one god instead of a host of Gods are a few examples of dialogs that force you to reflect on what you heard. The film's subject covers several religions. The fervent Muslims on the way to Haj survive the storm. The Christian Jim prays to his God. The Buddhists pray to Buddha. And the natives pray to their array of gods (a touch of Hinduism?). Yet, the film is not a religious film. But faith in God is underlined at every stage. Conrad was Polish and a seaman before he became a writer. Brooks is an American. O'Toole leads a cast that is predominantly British. Daliah Lavi is Israeli, Marquand is French, Jurgens is German...The film is truly international. Brooks not only wrote and directed the film but this was the first film that he produced.

The film proved to be ideal for O'Toole reprising his roles of "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Becket", roles that draw thin lines between cowardice and heroism and consequent attempts to redeem oneself. The film is not great cinema--but will remain for me cinema based on related major literary works ("Lord Jim" and "Heart of Darkness", both narrated by the fictional Marlow) adapted for the screen with some delightful performances from O'Toole, Mason, Wallach, and Marquand and commendable photography by Freddie Young. Was the above review useful to you? 38 out of 45 people found the following review useful: J.Conrad superb novel portrayed in a dark and poethic cinema language from Lisboa, Portugal 25 January 2004 The double edge of humanity: fear and courage. In his darkest hour, Lord Jim finds a redeeming path of self-sacrifice facing his past and the burden of a dramatic split-second decision. A coward´s decision aboard the Patna? Heroes before the action, dreaming of epic challenges often "freeze" in the face of danger. The survival instinct is in clear contradiction to the strong desire of young Jim to do good.

Peter o´Toole reveals a dramatical and deep performance, outstandingly faithful to Conrad´s masterpiece. James Mason is superb giving life to an ignominious as well as charming dark face of evil. The vivid colour of the jungle and the thick river myst create the perfect atmosphere for this dark novel(with a major future influence in Coppola´s "Apocalypse now"). In this film you can see portrayed the all time dilema of our lives. Everyone in his or her lifetime will sometimes have to make a decisive split-second decision, that will change irreversibly his life and that of others. If it is the wrong decision, will we ever have a chance of redemption? Was the above review useful to you? 37 out of 45 people found the following review useful: Superb Acting; Don't Miss This Classic Drama from Chicago, Illinois 24 October 2001 "Lord Jim" is a film that offers viewers satisfaction on many levels. Although it is set in an exotic locale and has a considerable amount of action, the real story of this movie is its exploration of the human condition. Love, honor, courage, commitment and redemption all come into play as the story moves from the sea to the jungle.

It reminds us how a split-second decision can alter dramatically the course of our lives. "Lord Jim" is a well-paced, engaging film. Peter O'Toole's thought-provoking and moving performance will stick in your mind long after you see this movie. I haven't read the book so I can't speak to the movie's faithfulness to the original text, but it does stand on its own legs as a thoroughly entertaining film. If you like movies such as "Lawrence of Arabia" or "The Sand Pebbles", you will definitely enjoy "Lord Jim." I highly recommend it. Hopefully, it will become available on DVD soon. Was the above review useful to you? 32 out of 41 people found the following review useful: Good Peter O'Toole performance in a great Joseph Conrad story from United States 24 March 2005 Moving story of an idealistic seaman forced to deal with his act of cowardice and how he ultimately redeems himself. The film has good action sequences and a moving love story. Performances by Eli Wallach and James Mason are colorful and solid, and there are plenty of Peter O'Toole's trademark "vacant stares".

Daliah Lavi is gorgeous and her role more substantive than those of her other films. I love Peter O'Toole's films from this period (Lawrence of Arabia, What's New Pussycat?, Night of the Generals) and this one is as good as most of them. I looked for this film on DVD and finally had to tape it off of AMC (in the good old days before they saturated their programing with commercials). I'd like to see it restored and re-released. Was the above review useful to you? 14 out of 17 people found the following review useful: A Period Piece from United States 19 February 2007 Based on the novel, this movie is not only representative of the period piece that Joseph Conrad's story was, but also of movie-making at that time (1965). It's an epic story told in the way that they did back then --sweeping landscapes, exotic locales, hundreds of extras, good performances and many questions regarding philosophical and practical values. At times a bit clunky and unexplained, the movie is a study in movie-making during that era.

It brings up the same issues that Conrad did in his book, sometimes so much so that the dialog feels as though it is dragging. O'Toole's character emotes plenty, despite acting flat for a good portion of the first third. The scene between him and James Mason is the spark of the piece. At 2:34, this movie flounders and drags in the middle. Still, it's a good piece to watch. Was the above review useful to you? 17 out of 24 people found the following review useful: Not half bad!! from Boston, Massachusetts 22 April 2005 Peter O'Tooles eyes are disturbingly blue. Lots of visual detail, good cinematography, cheap special effects. It moves slowly and doesn't really explain the motivations of the main character very well. O'Toole is good but oblique. The movie doesn't really pick up until Eli Wallach shows up. He is quite good, cheerfully cruel and sadistic, and I think he may have taken things from this role that he later expanded on in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

Curt Jurgens is delightfully seedy, a sweaty and cowardly drunk who needs a haircut. I don't know anything about the rating system here but I'm giving it a seven for just for watchability. Was the above review useful to you?

13 out of 19 people found the following review useful: Conrad Goes Hollywood from cleveland, ohio 24 October 2000 Conrad's novels,like those of Pasternak,are often read more for the mood and the tone than for the plot.In certain cases,the facts are the least important aspect.In my opinion,this is the state of "Lord Jim".The middle part does appear to be similar to a cross between a Tarzan movie,any film revolt against oppression,and "Treasure Island".Oh,but isn't Wallach's General,philosophical and sadistic,evily wise and perceptive,a vast improvement on the original?Sherif Ali was a crook,masquerading as a religious fanatic.The appearance of the pirates,however,enjoyable as it is,really proves to undermine Conrad's intrention.This is a bungled robbery,and Mason's sterling performance shows us a clever and insightful crook manipulating a dupe.In the original,the pirates appear almost as an instrument of fate,allowing Jim to destroy himself.Brown is Jim's unrecognized alter-ego;without acknowledging his own dark impulses,and dealing with them constructively,he(and the rest of us as well) fouls up his career and life.Every

thing else considered,this is still an enjoyable film,and a great tale of adventure.Watch it,but read the novel when it comes time to do the book report.

Was the above review useful to you? 7 out of 9 people found the following review useful: " You can no more escape who you are, . . . than what you are " from USA 28 August 2010 In 1900, Joseph Conrad published his extraordinary novel Lord Jim. Since then it has traveled around the world and received inter-national recognition and acclaim. In 1925, it was superbly adapted into a film called " Lord Jim ", which was re-made in 1965. In this version we have Peter O'Toole as Lord Jim. Basically, it tells the story of a young English sailor who joins the British Merchant Navy and feels he has found his calling. Having been injured, he is sent to recover in a hospital. Upon his discharge, he is anxious to return to sea, he signs on the first available ship called The Patna. The aging vessel has been assigned to transport Arab pilgrims to the middle East. A huge storm strikes the floundering ship causing the Crew to abandon ship. Jim is forced to choose and he jumps.

The ship, however does not sink and the cowardly crew goes into hiding, all except Jim who insists on being court-martial-ed and disgraced. For the rest of his life, Jim must live with the consequences of his fateful decision. He travels deep into the jungles of Malasia, where he seeks solace, redemption and a second chance to prove himself. The movie cast includes, James Mason, Curd Jürgens, Eli Wallach and Jack Hawkins. The film has become a benchmark for O'Toole and a definite Movie Classic. It is filled with suspense, dark drama, physical action, explosions and spectacular sequences. The sum total of which created a not-to-be missed Classic for all. **** Was the above review useful to you? 16 out of 27 people found the following review useful: Has Two Of The All-Time Best Film Villains ... from The West 5 January 2003 ...

in Eli Wallach's barbarically philosophical warlord, "The General," and in the late, great James Mason's "Gentleman" Brown, a latter-day South Seas pirate, guilty of "even some things not mentioned in the Bible." I never read the Conrad book, so I can't compare the film to that, but only judge it as a film. And I think it is worth remarking that one film has two of the all-time coolest villains in it. Was the above review useful to you? 3 out of 3 people found the following review useful: Peter O'Toole is magnificent as a deranged sailor in an interesting story of cowardice and redemption from Santander Spain 25 February 2015 Exciting and brooding picture based on the complex novel written by Joseph Conrad (who also wrote Darkness heart) and brought to the screen in lavish budget and colorful visual style .After being discredited as a coward, a 19th century seaman (Peter O'Toole) in British Merchant Marine lives for only one purpose : to redeem himself. As he suffers a deep scar and pain for the rest of his life .

But then , he becomes leader of a Southeast Asia village in spite of his past clouded by allegations of betrayal and cowardice . Meanwhile , the native villagers are being slavered by a group nasty cutthroats led European thugs (Eli Wallach , Curt Jurgens) . As the belief shown in him by the villagers is put to the test . This is a thought-provoking and intelligent story based on Joseph Conrad's novel written in 1900. This prestigious novel has been simplified for easier compression , appreciation and nicely developing . This adventure flick contains , thrills , action , intrigue and wonderful outdoors . Excellent acting by Peter O'Toole in the title role , he is a sailor in Souteast Asia who is adopted by a suppressed village as its leader . After the film's tepid reception, especially for his own starring performance, a once-enthusiastic Peter O'Toole declared, 'It was a mistake and I made the mistake because I was conservative and played safe and that way lies failure'. Movie's biggest moments provided by strange acting by the great Peter O'Toole .

Supporting cast is frankly sensational such as Curd Jürgens , Eli Wallach , Jack Hawkins , Paul Lukas , Daliah Lavi , Akim Tamiroff , Andrew Keir , Jack MacGowran ,Ric Young , Noel Purcel , Walter Gotell , among others .Evocative and exotic cinematography by Freddie Young , shot on location in Malacca, Malaysia Lantau Island, Hong Kong, China and Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia. Although the Cambodian government never demanded any script approval, one condition of its agreement to allow on-location shooting in the troubled nation was for the production company to build a lot of rooms addition to an existing hotel near the famed Angkor ruins . Directed and screen-played with awesome style by Richard Brooks . He was a fine writer/director so consistently mixed the good and average which it became impossible to know that to expect from him next . Firstly he worked regularly as a Hollywood screenwriter . After that , his initial experience of directing was one of his own screenplays called ¨Crisis¨.

The Richard Brooks films that have the greatest impact are realized during the 50s and 60s as ¨Cat on a hot tin roof¨, ¨Something of value¨ , ¨Elmer Gantry¨, ¨Sweet bird of youth¨, ¨In cold blood¨ , ¨Lord Jim¨. Brooks was a writer and director of Chekhovian depth , who mastered the use of understatement, anticlimax and implied emotion . His films enjoyed lasting appeal and tended to be more serious than the usual mainstream productions . Richards formerly directed two good Western titled ¨Bite the bullet¨ and ¨The professionals ¨ with various tough stars as Burt Lancaster , Lee Marvin , Jack Palance and Robert Ryan , including the same musician , Alex North , and similar outdoors . The ¨Lord Jim¨ is an authentic must see , not to be missed for buffs of the genre . A magnificent movie , hardly noticed for its theatrical release ; however , being nowadays very well considered . Rating : Above average because of its awesome acting , dialog , score are world class. Was the above review useful to you?

Page 1 of 4: Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad – review | Books | The Guardian Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad – review Phil Mongredien takes another trip up that African river… The film Apocalypse Now transposed Conrad’s novel to south-east Asia. Photograph: Allstar/Miramax/Sportsphoto Ltd./Allstar Share on Messenger Close In 1890, Joseph Conrad , an officer aboard the Roi des Belges, sailed up the River Congo into the hinterland of the Congo Free State, in effect the private fiefdom of King Leopold of Belgium. Eight years later, just as details of Leopold's genocidal regime began to become public, Conrad's experiences there inspired him to write Heart of Darkness, as powerful a condemnation of imperialism as has ever been written, and still a deeply unsettling read more than a century on. The novella centres on the efforts of Marlow, Conrad's alter ego, to travel up an unnamed African river on behalf of his employer in order to bring back a rogue ivory trader, Mr Kurtz.

Kurtz's reputation precedes him: "He is a prodigy… an emissary of pity and science and progress." Yet as Marlow gets closer to Kurtz, there is the growing suggestion that he has in some way become corrupted and descended into savagery. The further upstream Marlow gets, the more intense the sense of impending danger, with cryptic warnings and a bloody ambush ratcheting up the tension. When Marlow finally reaches Kurtz's camp, he discovers a scene of unimaginable depravity. The dying Kurtz is taken aboard the boat (along with a prodigious quantity of ivory), but he does not survive the journey back downstream. With Marlow present, his chilling last words are "The horror!

The horror!" It is tempting to see Heart of Darkness as a masterfully constructed parable on human nature (witness Apocalypse Now, Francis Ford Coppola's film adaptation, in which the action was transposed to south-east Asia) but as historian Adam Hochschild has pointed out in King Leopold's Ghost, about the king's rape of the Congo, Conrad himself was quite clear that it was based on specific events he had witnessed, saying it was "experience… pushed a little (and only very little) beyond the actual facts of the case". Despite his protestations, this is undeniably an invaluable historical document offering a glimpse into the horrific human consequences of the imperial powers' scramble for Africa as much as it is a compelling tale. Heart of Darkness Parallels Essay - 629 Words Essay about Parallels Between Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now ...Various parallels can be drawn when comparing and contrasting Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness and Frank Coppola's "Apocalypse Now", while taking into consideration Heart of Darkness is a novella and "Apocalypse Now" is a film. These differences and similarities can be seen in themes, characters, events and other small snippets of information including anything from quoted lines to strange actions of the main characters....

1879 Words | 5 Pages Heart of Darkness Essay ...Staci Watson Mills AP English 6th April 17, 2012 Heart of Darkness vs. Apocalypse Now Both the novel "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad and the movie "Apocalypse Now" are about one man's journey through Africa and Vietnam. A comparison and contrast can be made between the two. Both have the same themes but entirely different settings. Heart of Darkness takes place on the Congo River in the... 972 Words | 3 Pages Essay about Heart of Darkness ...The Real Heart Of Darkness Heart of Darkness is not only the title of Joseph Conrad's novella, it is also a main theme. This is portrayed through different images of darkness, black and evil throughout his story. The setting is often used with images of darkness; even as Marlow tells his tale, it is night. This darkness' is inside many concepts of the novella such as Africa, women, black... 1004 Words | 3 Pages Heart of Darkness Essay ...﻿Heart of Darkness Essay Light and dark imagery is one element most commonly used in literature, and has held specific symbolic meanings for hundreds of years.

Simply stated, light generally symbolizes good, while darkness symbolizes the complete opposite, evil. More specifically, Conrad uses detailed imagery of light and dark to show that white men can in fact be more savage than the natives. While the contrast of light and dark, white and black,... 990 Words | 4 Pages Essay on Heart of Darkness ...he must distinguish which parts of the text are coherent in his adaptation of the novella and the audience’s reaction to it. Coppola chose to retain the main themes of Heart of Darkness. The criticizing and mocking of imperialism was a prevalent theme that surfaced throughout Apocalypse Now. For instance in Heart of darkness, Marlow exemplifies the basis of imperialism. "The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it... 1423 Words | 5 Pages Heart of Darkness Essay ...Heart of Darkness, a novel written by Joseph Conrad, tells the story of a character named Marlow, who is recalling his journey to Africa down the Congo River to a group of seamen on a boat. The story is being retold by an unknown figure that people refer to as the narrator. Joseph Conrad’s characters are constructed around the ideas that were present in society when the novel was written.

Characters such as Kurtz and Marlow are created to be naive and to allows... 1284 Words | 3 Pages Essay about Heart of Darkness ...L I T CHA R T S TM Heart of Darkness Key Facts Full Title: Heart of Darkness Genre: Colonial literature; Quest literature Setting: The Narrator tells the story from a ship at the mouth of the Thames River near London, England around 1899. Marlow’s story-within-the-story is set in an unnamed European city (probably Brussels) and in the Belgian Congo in Africa sometime in the early to mid 1890s, during the colonial era. Climax: The... 12884 Words | 37 Pages Heart of Darkness Essay ...1. Some critics believe that in Heart of Darkness Conrad illustrates how ‘’the darkness of the landscape can lead to the darkness of the social corruption.” This statement means that if the environment is dark, then the people in that environment will match the surrounding feeling, which is dark and depressing. For example, if it is a gloomy rainy day, most people feel tired and not as happy. If it is a bright sunny day, the most... 1062 Words | 3 Pages

Question: The film Apocalypse Now is based on which novella by the author Joseph Conrad?
Answer: Heart of Darkness